Nobody knows for sure what's happening, but look at all the companies that have had zero problems creating and maintaining YouTube apps and channels for a billion devices and services. (Every Blu-ray player manufacturer, TV manufacturer, etc.) I find it unlikely that Google's truly the problem in this regard; but honestly, that is just guesswork on my part.

I'll believe it when I see it. The NFL is expert at leveraging for exclusive contracts, even if it hurts the fans (DirecTV, Verizon mobile deal, the crap that is EA Sports). Likely this is a ploy to get DirecTV to cough up even more dough.

UNLESS...the NFL sees YouTube as the best way to grow this game internationally. That might be a legit reason to hope that the NFL goes with Google--here's hoping!

_________________"I can deal with Kap looking/acting like a douchebag so long as he wins. You can't be a douche AND a loser, Kap. Get your ---- together, a-hole."

It's probably a mixture of that. The NFL wants it to grow, as does Directv. But I'm confident Directv doesn't have the servers to handle that kind of load, and that's where Google comes in. Win-win for everyone, the NFL, Directv, Google, and consumers.

The more I think about it, the more this would make sense for the NFL. YouTube's the only infrastructure out there that you could depend on to scale your needs if you're going to make a big international push like the NFL undoubtedly wants to do. Netflix is up there too, but they're way smaller on an international scale than YouTube.